Probably the best luxury hotel & 3 recommended fine-dining restaurants in Chile’s beautiful coastal city:

Nothing against Santiago de Chile, but Valparaiso warmed my heart more. So, if you have two or three days to spare in your Chile itinerary – here is mine – in addition to Patagonia, the Atacama Desert and Santiago, you should go there. Valparaiso is known for its colorful architecture, its steep hills with views of the Pacific Ocean and streets filled with street art. It is much smaller than Santiago plus it is very walkable, despite being hilly. That is because of its picturesque old funiculars, which bring people up and down the hills. Find here a suggestion for a Valparaiso city tour in keywords (under activities on My Google Map). And of course, I also had made sure that my husband and I stayed and dined in style in this coastal city. Thus, I can inform you about probably the best luxury hotel and three good fine-dining restaurants in Valparaiso.

I begin with lodging before letting you know about where to go for dining in style in this picturesque Chilean city.

Staying in style at Hotel Casa Higueras

There is not much choice as to luxury hotels in Valparaiso. And from what I found out, Casa Higueras seems to be the best in town it this lodging segment. So, book ahead, there are only 20 rooms, and you want to have one with sea view! In addition, this hotel also hosts one of the best restaurants in Valparaiso.

Location

Casa Higueras is located on Cerro Alegre (Happy Hill), at the heart of one of the city’s prettiest neighborhoods. It is situated at the back of a dead-end street, so you have absolute quietude here. You have great views of the Pacific Ocean, in this maze of steep slopes and winding streets. And there is a huge numbers of hip stores, cafés and restaurants nearby. Also the main sights are within easy reach.

Ambiance/Staff

The hotel occupies an elegant 1920 converted town house, oozing charm and character. It is decorated with dark wood furniture, artworks and tropical plants. The five-level building nestles along the slope with the benefits of an added tiered garden. It is a lovely property indeed and well maintained too.

The front desk staff is gracious and more than ready to help you with information where to go for sightseeing – and where not. They have great tips how to walk and explore the beautiful Valparaiso (also see My Google Map under activities). Yet all the other staff member we met – at the restaurant in particular – were very friendly, hospitable and attentive.

Rooms

I mentioned it, 20 rooms are available. The ones with sea views and balconies are of course the most desirable ones (and also the more expensive ones). There are five accommodation categories: Traditional, Premium, Premium Superior, Superior and Deluxe. Rates start at 246 US$ in the low season.

My husband and I had a Superior Twin, and we were delighted by the generous layout of our room. There was a large seating area with a small balcony offering great views of the Pacific Ocean.

And the bathroom was oversized with lots of natural light.

As to the interior design, the accommodation married traditional and contemporary decor. I think it suited the character of the house just ideally.

Restaurant

The onsite restaurant, Maralegre, is one of Valparaiso’s best. On offer here is contemporary cuisine locally sourced with an emphasis on seafood. You get traditional Chile Creole cuisine here in combination with Italian and French cooking techniques. Maralegre is known to serve some of the best ceviches in town. The premises are really nice, there is a modernly furnished dining room with lots of wood.

The outdoor area is glorious, a terrace with fabulous views of Valparaiso’s multi-colored houses and the sea.

My husband and I had breakfast here on three mornings, which was good, and once we had a fabulous dinner. More details follow in the section dedicated to the food.

Other facilities

The hotel boasts a few small communal lounges, that are very elegant,

and a spa. In the terraced garden, you also find a delightful pool along with loungers and a Jacuzzi. Plus, there is a splendid rooftop terrace, where you have best views of the surroundings.

Overall Casa Higueras

There is no better lodging option for demanding travelers heading to Valparaiso than Casa Higueras. I would even go so far as to claim that this is the only hotel that deserves the term luxurious in this gorgeous coastal town. And the excellent in-house Restaurant Maralegre is an asset too. So, go here for best upscale hotel and foodie restaurant in Valparaiso. Plus, you are at the right spot here for enjoying the best the city has to offer in terms of shopping, going out and sightseeing.

Dining in style in Valparaiso

I can say in advance that Valparaiso is not exactly a gourmet paradise. And the situation is even worse if you are here from Sunday to Tuesday, as this was the case with my husband and me. In the end, we were able to find three fine dining restaurants which were convincing enough. I had also consulted the 50 Best Discovery list by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants. And they suggested two places, yet unfortunately one of them, La Caperucita y el Lobo, is only open in the evening from Thursday to Saturday. So, that was not for us. Fortunately, our hotel – probably your best choice in Valparaiso – has a recommended restaurant too. And it is open seven days a week. I start with our experience here.

1. Restaurant Maralegre at Casa Higueras Valparaiso

I already informed you about the setting above, so I come straight to food, overall assessment and pricing.

Maralegre – with chef Francisco Guzmán at the helm since since spring 2022 – is strong in seafood cooking, so we opted for such dishes. While not everything on the menu in terms of starters was available, we opted for Abalones with Avocado Emulsion

and Grilled Octopus with Sweet Potato Puree. For mains, we had Sea Fettuccine (fresh noodles with prawns, mussels & small clams) and the Catch of the Day (grilled local fish, broad beans puree & roasted vegetable). To end the meal, we ordered Milk Flan (reduction of milk & fruit sauce) and Chocolate Mousse with Oranges (soft bitter chocolate mousse with caramelized oranges & seasonal fruit ice cream).

The food was carefully prepared and tasted good, we liked what we got. It was more substance than style, but better so than the other way round. Portions were big enough, staff was friendly and informative. Price wise, it was completely fine, we paid around 100 US$ for the two of us (with a bottle of wine). I would recommend dining here if you are looking for a fine meal in a pleasant setting. But do not expect cutting edge gastronomy.

2. Restaurant Portofino Valparaiso

Some background & setting

Here you find no cutting edge fine dining either – as in the place before -, but they know their job at Portofino. The prime benefit of this restaurant that is a bit away from the city center towards Viña del Mar is its setting. Portofino is located at Cerro Esperanza – just above the beach of Caleta Portales  – with the most beautiful views of the Pacific Ocean.

The restaurant, under the management of owner Renato Airola and chef Giuliano Olmos since mid 2021, serves Italian cuisine. The chef puts value on using seasonal produce and sources locally whenever possible, yet he also imports some ingredients (flours, cheeses, oil and different spices) from Italy.

My husband and I were seated what I think was the main dining room – there must be others, the place has a capacity for 140 to 160 guests. From what I read, there also must be several terraces, some belonging to private rooms. The ambiance was pleasant, although I found the paper placemat menus and paper napkins not appropriate for such an establishment.

While not all the servers knew English, communication was no problem. And we received good service.

Food, overall & price

The menu is extensive, you can make your choice out of six sections: Antipasti (starters), Insalate (salads), Primi Piatti (first courses), Secondi di Terra (meat mains), Secondi di Mare (seafood mains) and Dolci (desserts).

My husband and I went for a salad with pears and Gorgonzola cheese as well as Burrata with a tomato variation, red pesto and olives as starters. And wow, both dishes could have passed as mains, they were huge. My advice is to share one starter for two persons. Then we ordered Salmon & Gnocchi

and Rigatoni Tricolore (made three ways). We also had the Foccaccia della Casa, the house bread. As dessert, we shared a Tiramisù with ice cream.

Food was well prepared, appealingly presented and tasty. Not only the size of the starters was generous, it was the case with all the dishes we had. All in all, we liked our experience at Restaurant Portofino, the meal was perfectly adequate. Yet they could improve some details just as providing a decent menu (not in the form of a placemat) and cloth napkins. With regard to pricing, it was good value (around 100 USS$ for two with a bottle of wine).

3. Restaurant La Concepción Valparaiso

Some background & setting

The dinner at Restaurant La Concepción was definitely our culinary highlight in Valparaiso. I mentioned above that there are two dining spots in Valparaiso at the 50 Best Discovery list by the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, and this is one of them.

Despite my trying hard I found not much background about this place. La Concepción’s building dates back to 1880, which has been refurbished over the years. And this apparently by using its own antique wood. The restaurant was opened in late 2005 by an American couple, Jude and Robert Gerrity. And Miguel Fuentes seems to the the manager here, but I could not find any information about the chef.

La Concepción’s setting is nice. The restaurant extends over two floors, the space on the ground floor is very limited. Yet there is a rather large garden terrace with prime views of the container ships far below in Valparaiso’s working port plus of Viña del Mar in the distance. And guests – lots of non-locals among them – seemingly like to eat out there, and this also in colder weather (they provide blankets).

Out waiter was polite but not very talkative.

Food, overall & price

The restaurant offers a wide-ranging menu with a special focus on fish and seafood. Yet you also find international dishes on it. As to starters (five of them were available), we opted for Ostiones la Casa (Chilean scallops), baked with wine and cheese, and they were very good! We had one dish to share, on advice of our server.

In terms of mains, you could choose between three beef or pasta dishes or go for seafood. And the latter is what we did. Out of the seven items on the menu, I had Camarón al Curry, a red curry with Ecuadorian shrimp. My husband decided on Tuna with Oyster Sauce. While my dish was immaculate, my husband’s tuna was a bit on the less tender side. Although the accompanying mote (corn) risotto was great. The same is true for the bread that they served!

For dessert there was quite a choice too (six of them). And they were predominantly of Western origin. We shared a peanut butter cheese cake chocolate brownie combination. It came with vanilla ice cream and was delicious – and also optically appealing.

On the whole, La Concepción knew to persuade with refined and well-prepared creations, and this in a pleasant casual setting. Yet there were also the one or other imperfections just as the tuna being not tender enough or the long wait for the dessert. Yet, I cannot imagine that you find a much better dining option in Valparaiso. And the pricing was alright too, around 100 USS$ for two with a bottle of wine.

Looking back & ahead on my Chile & Buenos Aires journey

That current post, going into best hotel and restaurants in Valparaiso, is my second to last one when it comes to my husband’s and my Chile and Buenos Aires trip. Next on my blog will be the one about Buenos Aires where I will do the same as here, going into one of the best hotels for demanding travelers and three restaurants for dining lovers.

So far I have reported on the same topic as to Santiago de Chile and our experience at three high-end hotels in Patagonia and the Atacama Desert. I started the whole with presenting a 20-day itinerary where My Google Map of the trip is in center. It includes all the luxury hotels we stayed, the foodie restaurants we ate and the activities we did. As to the latter, this section also comes with city tours in keywords for all the three cities we were (Santiago de Chile, Valparaiso and Buenos Aires). And of course, photos are there too ..

Date of stay: November 2023

Pin it for later

The post Where to stay & dine in style in Valparaiso/Chile first appeared on Swiss Traveler